Senior congress leader and former chief minister Oommen Chandy today gave his statement before a special investigation team of the crime branch on his remark that he was blackmailed in the solar scam.

Police recorded Chandy's statement based on a complaint filed by BJP leader K Surendran seeking a probe into Chandy's remark in this regard.

The scam had rocked the previous Congress-led UDF government headed by Chandy after reports surfaced in 2013 that some of his staff were involved in alleged cheating of several persons of crores of rupees by Saritha S Nair and her accomplice Biju Radhakrishnan by offering solar panel solutions.

A judicial commission, which probed the matter, had submitted its report last year. It had indicted Chandy and some other UDF leaders in connection with the scam.

The CPI-M-led LDF government headed by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, which accepted the report, had announced registering cases against Chandy and a dozen senior congress politicians, besides placing it in the assembly at a special one-day session.

Soon after the report was placed, Chandy at a press meet claimed that he had done no wrong, but remarked that he was subjected to 'blackmail' in the case. '